By: Alexandre Buisson
Many people are tempted by pre-marinated meats sold in grocery stores or other stores when it comes to choosing what to eat during the day.
It's okay to do this, but it's not the best way to do it.
Yes, honestly, the ideal is really to season and baste our meats ourselves. First, yes, because we can make our own combination of flavors, but also, especially, because sauce is what we put on our meats at the end when we cook on the BBQ (those who have followed the BBQ Québec 101 course have heard this repeated often!). JP also wrote an article on why he never marinates his meats and fish , but I wanted to supplement his information with my own ideas.
Why Avoid Pre-Marinated Meals
First, you may be wondering why we don't recommend putting your already-sauced meats on the grill. There are 2 major reasons:
- Marinating meat will only give it flavor, it will not attack the muscles and fibers to tenderize it. The flavor then remains only on the surface; it does not penetrate the meat itself.
- When the sauce comes into contact with the BBQ grill and the heat of the burners, it risks carbonizing, on the meat AND on the appliance. The barbecue then becomes dirty and there is a risk of flashback.
In short, you get the idea, this is really not ideal. In a situation where you, or someone else, has brought a "ready to grill" dish home for dinner, however, you still don't want to waste it, so I'll tell you what you can do.
What to do with pre-marinated meat
The trick I can give you is very simple: wipe off the excess marinade before putting the meat on the grill. You can also keep the excess in a small container, like our basting set , and reapply it to the meat at the end of cooking if you want to give it a "meat in sauce" effect and prevent the marinade from burning.
So, once your meat is, actually, ready to grill, start cooking it in the indirect heat zone, then sear it afterwards if you want to give it better coloring and/or grill marks.
If the sauce is sweeter, searing the meat will make it more caramelized, and if it is more acidic (made from red wine, tomato paste or soy sauce, for example), more "crusty".
Of course, never forget to rely on the internal temperature of your meat to know when it is ready to be enjoyed. (I even put the link to our cooking temperature chart here so you can always have it on hand!)
And… that’s it!
Remember, however, that the ideal is, as I said, to season your meat yourself and brush it with sauce at the end of cooking. And, if you want to go with that, there is no shortage of recipes on our site! 😉
Happy BBQ to all!